APPLETON - Police Chief Todd Thomas touched on the recent stretch of violent crime in the city during an address to the community Thursday via Facebook Live.

"This was a challenging time for every member of the police department as well as the community," he said during the live broadcast. "What was shocking was the closeness in time of these serious crimes. It causes people to be fearful and maybe question how safe they are but I think what we need to remember is these weren't random acts. These were crimes that occurred between people that were associated with each other."

Among the updates, he said the two men wanted in connection with the June 11 shooting on Foster Court have yet to be caught. Police do not believe they are in the area and are working with other agencies to find them, he said.

Police previously said they believed the pair, Jorge Luis Zendejas-Cano, 29, and Miguel Zendejas-Cano, 31, fled to Mexico after the fatal shooting of Jose Gil-Leon, 42.

A first-degree intentional homicide charge has been filed in Outagamie County court against Jorge Luis Zendejas-Cano. Charges of aiding or harboring a felon, two counts of aggravated battery with intent to cause bodily harm and one count of disorderly conduct were filed against Miguel Zendejas-Cano.

The 30-minute livestream was an effort to communicate directly with the public, Thomas said.

He took citizens' questions and addressed other topics related to the police department, including:

Recent crime statistics: Thomas said that overall crime numbers continue to decline. There has been an increase in the number of robberies, but he said that was mainly because of a couple people who were responsible for a number of robberies, which could skew the statistics.

The city's ordinance on alcohol in the parks: The city has issued about 80 permits to people that allow them to drink in the parks. About 80 people have been denied permits, he said. The city has seen a "dramatic decrease" in the number of police calls to the parks, he said.

The Police Department's Five Pillar Initiative: The department created an "action plan" after meeting with community members last year to determine where to focus as a police department. Specific members of the department have been working to build relationships with various groups in the community. All officers have gone through training in fair and impartial policing and the neighborhood watch captains have also received a shortened version of that training, as well as other agencies.​

Branding the department: A film production company will be putting together a video that includes interviews with officers and other staff talking about "who we are and what we do." He said these will not be scripted interviews. ​

Community survey: He would like to have a survey that breaks down the city by voter district to determine what issues different districts would like police to focus on.

On media criticism: The media has changed a lot in the last 10 to 15 years, and it's a lot more competitive, he said. The media can be in a rush to get out the story quickly and sometimes police are not as quick to get out information, he said. Law enforcement must be more assertive in addressing critical narratives or inaccuracies in the media but on the flip side, the media is also responsible for holding police accountable, he said.

Use-of-force training: He declined to speak specifically on cases where citizens around the country have died during encounters with police, calling these deaths "tragedies." He cautioned against painting all officers with the same brush based on these deaths. Every Appleton police officer has a body camera and the department trains "much differently" than some other departments around the country, he said. The Appleton Police Department trains to try other tactics before using force but sometimes force is necessary, Thomas said.